Our recommendations

Every gathering with family and friends around the table is a special moment. Every gathering might be a feast. The one that will make you and your guests enchanted with the aromas and flavors, with the taste of fantastic delicacies. Croatian delicacies that you may find in our shop can create that kind of magic.

Congratulations to our 2 New Great Taste award winners (2017)

Borough Market shop, London, SE1

London’s Borough Market is widely known for some of the best and finest food produce from the UK and around the world. In our Taste Croatia shop, at this foodies’ shopping paradise, you can sample all our products, discuss recipe suggestions and learn more about our Croatia, one of the most beautiful countries in Europe!

Croatia. In the heart of Europe.

So, you’ve probably heard of or hopefully even visited, «a land of a thousand islands» or «the Mediterranean as it once was», the beautiful country called Croatia. This small country has it all – the sea, the islands, the rocks, the swamps and woods, lakes and waterfalls, lowlands and highlands. It has a magnificent history….

Facts from and about Croatia

Simply divine Belic Oleum Viride oil rated 10/10 in the Fortnum & Mason tasting, amongst 130 oils from around the world. The Oleum Viride name itself was used by ancient Romans for olive oil produced from medium ripe olives.

Julius Cesar’s favourite olive oil was from Istria, a region in Croatia famous for some of the best olive oils in the world. The olive oil was reputed to be the best in the entire Roman Empire.

Croatia has more than 300 geographically defined wine producing areas with a strict classification system to ensure quality and origin. The majority of Croatian wine is white (more than 60 percent), with most of the remaining being red, and only a small percentage is rosé wines.

The largest white truffle in the world according to the Guinness book of records, was found in Istria by our supplier Giancarlo Zigante in 1999. It weighed 1.31 kg. A previous white truffle found in 2009 was auctioned at a truffle festival for $150,000.

Kulin (pron. cool-en), traditional sausage from Slavonia, northeast part of Croatia, is made from only four ingredients: pork meat, spicy red pepper, garlic and salt. Produced in Slavonia and nowhere else in the world. There is a smaller and lighter version of the kulin sausage, known as «Kulin’s baby sister».

Croatia has 1246 islands, isles and inlets of wich only 48 are inhabited. Almost 10% of Croatia is made up of 11 natural parks, 8 national parks and 2 nature reserves. It has 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites among wich is one National park- Plitvice Lakes, one of the oldest national parks in Southeast Europe.

Lord Byron named it “the Pearl in the Adriatic” and George Bernard Shaw said, “Those that seek paradise on earth should seek it in Dubrovnik”. In the Croatian region of Dalmatia along the Adriatic Sea lies Dubrovnik, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, as old as 7th century and since 1979 included in UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites.

Croatian wine has a history dating back some 2,500 years ago, to the Ancient Greek settlers and their wine production on the southern Dalmatian islands of Vis, Hvar and Korčula. Many traditional grape varieties still survive in Croatia.

The necktie, that most ubiquitous of modern accessories, originates from Croatia. It came to Western Europe in the 17th century, courtesy of Croatian mercenaries who served under Louis XIII, the King of France. He liked it so much that he made these ties a mandatory accessory for Royal gatherings, and to honor the Croatian soldiers, he gave this clothing piece the name “La Cravate”.

Flos Olei, the world’s “Bible” of olive oils, voted Istria the best olive region in the world in its 2016 edition. The excellent results show that extra virgin olive oil, along with truffle, is one of the most competitive products of this Croatian region.

Croatia has the highest number of UNESCO Intangible Goods of any European country, including lace making, gingerbread baking and wooden toy carvings. In 2013 Croatia was inscribed on UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as one of the countries that have Mediterranean diet as a part of their tradition, along with Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Italy, Morocco and Portugal.

Blog

It truly is a truly special time of year, and after all 2017 has brought, we welcome in 2018 with warm open arms. This time gives us the opportunity to appreciate all we have, and be surrounded by loved ones, eating good food, drinking good wine, sharing in joy filled spirits – it truly is…

Recommended Events

Join us for a great Croatian wine tasting

Save the date! March 27th at 6.30 pm in our shop at 3 Crown Square Borough Market, we will be tasting 6 wines representing various Croatian wine regions and grapes, accompanied with cheese and charcuterie boards for the price of £10 per person. Come to taste and learn about Croatian wine, have fun and purchase wines that are now selling in London’s finest restaurants. For ticket purchase- visit the shop or call us on 0207 407 4439. View more info.

Inspirations

Having unexpected guests or just want to prepare something fast but tasty?

Cook your favorite pasta. In another pan heat up our ready-to-use Black and white truffle pate, add some white wine and stir in the pasta. With some smoked salmon aside…that’s a feast prepared in less than 15 minutes! This is how fast food should taste like. Yummy…

Luxurious taste of chopped black truffles

Add a hint of luxury to your breakfast. Just place a bit of chopped black truffle on top of scrambled eggs and you’ll feel absolutely fabulous all day. These truffles will give your risotto and pasta a luxurious taste as well.

Oleum Viride Belic Selection scored 10/10 on Fortnum & Mason tasting.

A couple of drops of this divine liquid will make your dish fit for the gods. It combines splendidly with veal and lamb, asparagus, with eggs and prosciutto, grilled fish and vegetables, cuttlefish risotto, octopus salad and grilled salmon.

Fig chutney makes you say “wow”

Want to add the wow factor to your cheese board? Serve any sort of cheese you like with our Fig chutney, made from fresh figs with a hint of sage and rosemary.

You can serve it on an antipasti board but why not try it as a topping for pizza or frittata?

Maybe make a twist to your favourite pasta meal? Made from the best prime loin cuts of an indigenous Slavonian breed of pigs which are outdoor bred and fed organically on corn, barley and oats, Kulin Galovic is a must-try.